Looking deep into a painting and discovering levels and layers of interest is always a rewarding practice. Close examination of  pictorial presentations may reveal secondary figures that extrapolate on the narrative or arbitrary colours and clever mark making that reinforce the image. However when you fall into the depths of pure abstraction, especially the paintings by Lisa Wolfgramm, you may just be rewarded with finding the portal to infinity.

The numbered rather then named paintings in this exhibition invite the viewer to investigate multiple layers of a primary colour. From a distance the large canvases seem to be simple compositions of blue, red or yellow presented as tonal patterns. However, closer inspection reveals each work consists of an ideal manipulation of hue and precision brush work that appears to simultaneously sit on the surface and swim in space. The artist manages to set the canvas shimmering and vibrating in a joyous celebration of painting.

Wolfgramm's work is about process, colour and mark making. Every daub, every line is carefully considered and executed. Some works suggest patterns such as woven fabric, mosaic tiles or basket weave, while others hint at a subject like a ground covered with blue confetti or small sheets of paper swimming in a blood red sea. But the artist seems more intent on pushing one transparent tone over another or leaving a build-up of medium to create a textural line, a minute wall the width of her brush, or she may accent a coloured mark with a black contour line on one plane. We particularly appreciate where layers of blue spots are employed to create a vortex that seems to pulsate outward from a pinpoint only to be held back by a sprinkling of red daubs that accentuate the flat surface of the canvas. The result is a powerful sense of spatial tension.

One can wax lyrically about these paintings but it does the artist no favour by trying to verbalize her efforts or explain the how and why of it all. The only thing anyone can say about Wolfgramm's art is go and see it for yourself. Reap the rewards of these well executed works by looking deep into the painting and enjoy being transported onto a new level of appreciation.